Just Be a Man About It: Rush Limbaugh Blames Rappers for His Ignorance

To say you’re surprised by anything ignorant that comes out of the mouth of talk show host and conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh is pretty crazy at this point. It’s like sitting in front of your window expecting the sun to come up–why pay attention when you know it’s going to happen? He was born to be a scoundrel–he is the chosen one. From calling President Obama “Barack the Magic Negro” to making claims that actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, was exaggerating the severity of his illness in an ad for stem cell research to gain sympathy, it’s clear that Limbaugh is the big, immature and insensitive kid who just wasn’t given that talk about common sense, and you know…home training.

But I guess he crossed a whole new line with people after he called law student Sandra Fluke a “S**t,” “prostitute” and “feminazi” because she went in front of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee to get support for health coverage for contraceptives. BAD move. Doesn’t he know who runs the world? (Girls!) Since making those remarks last week, his sponsors have been running like Usain Bolt away from his show and everything that represents Limbaugh. Although he has tried to offer multiple phony and lame apologies, ones that came out of pressure but not true remorse, folks still aren’t having it. So instead of backing away from his comments, Limbaugh has decided to do what too many white men with a microphone and a huge audience like to do when they have their back against a wall with sponsors and the public in general–blame rap music.

While defending his comments (and no longer running from them), Limbaugh had the following to say according to MTV: “Talk about a double standard,’’ Limbaugh said. “Rappers can say anything they want about women. It’s called art. And they win awards.’’

…*Bursts into laughter* Really Rush? Really? Is that all you could think of?

I mean, let’s be real about it, this is a subject we’ve talked about numerous times. Do many rappers consistently degrade women and call them things much worse than “sluts” and “prostitutes” in their lyrics? Yes, often. After watching a video of rapper Game and his crew push a woman off the stage after groping her when she refused to pull down her shirt, it’s clear some men getting paid for their “talents” and rhymes need to rethink their behavior and their lyrics. However, when are grown a** radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Don Imus going to stop blaming rappers they don’t listen to and know not a darn thing about for their disrespectful, hateful and simple-minded comments? It’s so played out to go after the group of people that mainstream America loves to dance to one day, and then bash the next.

What’s really up with this 61-year-old man blaming Gucci, Lil Wayne, Kanye (hell, even Nicki) and a slew of other rappers for the fact that he can’t stand to see a strong woman fight for a cause that he doesn’t agree with? And to see Don Imus’ archaic behind having the nerve to to call Limbaugh an insincere pig for his attack on Fluke almost made me want to throw up my Cap’N Crunch this morning. So it’s not okay for him to call this young, educated and strong white woman a “s**t,” but you had all the reason in the world to call a probably equally educated and strong group of black female basketball players nappy headed hoes and then deflect the focus to Jay-Z? Yeah, both of these men have the game all wrong.

It’s pretty clear we live in a world where many men don’t have much respect for women at all: rappers, political pundits, men on the street in general. I could sit around and cry a river over it, but I’m fairly sure that this was something we all knew already. Hearing enough conversations and excuses as to why men shouldn’t give up their seats on trains and open doors and Facebook essays on why a woman’s outfit could be asking for sexual assault proves that. And that’s the root of Limbaugh’s comments, his huge lack of respect for women and other people in general who don’t agree with his views and tirades.

In my mind, when something that vile comes out of your mouth, chances are, you truly mean it. So Rush, either stand up like a man and apologize if you feel bad, or don’t and stand by your words, but at 61 years of age, you and all these other loose-lipped old white men with power and influence need to stop blaming others for your racist and sexist actions. While Yeezy, Wacka, and especially Game might have a long way to go with showing respect for women in their lyrics, they didn’t advise you to call her a “s**t,” so stop running from the real problem and using black men as your scapegoat. Because seriously, if I asked him to name 10 of his favorite rappers, he’d probably draw a blank after one. Come on Rush, suck it up and finally, FINALLY take the consequences of your actions–or make that words–like a man.